Also from Zoxell: These are the Voyages

Daniel Noah Shays is a human, born on Earth to a hard-working agriculturalist couple in the South Carolina back-country. Dan’s father was a farmer, as was his father’s father, going back hundreds of years. The world had moved past agriculture a long time ago. Having eliminated food shortages and hunger with the onset of replication technology, food growers on Earth were no longer necessary. This fact did not diminish the demand for fresh, organic vegetables, eggs, dairy, and meat, however.

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Chapter 5.12 – Nobody

Mark could have come into the foyer banging pots and pans, and Hope would still have been oblivious to his presence.

Likewise, his hasty departure from the awkward scene goes with about as much notice as his arrival. It is just as well, honestly; since Hope and Doc only just stare at each other in dumbfounded silence for quite some time. Hope does eventually speak, confessing that she thought that he was nothing more than a dream. To see him standing in her home is nothing short of impossible.

Doc clears his throat, thankful for the merciful segue away from the uncomfortable silence. His index finger reaches instinctively for the bridge of his glasses as he begins to explain the temporal loop that he discovered, and the “echo effect” that has likely caused their mutual feeling of familiarity. He acknowledges that he has experienced a similar but subdued sense from the girl who brought him here.

Hope’s mothering instinct kicks in as she narrows her eyes and asks why Faith brought him to the house. Doc nervously tells Hope about their first meeting at the soup kitchen, then again at the scrap yard. When he describes the confrontation with Jared at the Bits-n-Bites, Hope rolls her eyes and apologizes for the problems Faith has caused. Feeling reassured that Faith is in no danger, Hope’s attention reverts back to Doc, who is now visibly uneasy after learning that Faith is her daughter.

Hope gently tells Doc about her indiscretions as a teenager, and feels somehow compelled to reassure him that she is not in a relationship. She continues, telling Doc about her rocky romance with Michael Nava, and becoming pregnant with Faith by some unknown sim during one of Michael’s parties. Hope pauses, then tells Doc that she started having dreams about him soon after Faith was born. Only recently, the dreams have become more vivid, and as a result, more heartbreaking when she wakes up from them.

Despite needing to find out more about him, she can no longer stomach Doc’s hygiene “problem”. She offers the guest room to him for the night and suggests that he go shower and change into clean clothes from the armoire. Having nowhere else to go, Doc reluctantly agrees. He does not prefer to sleep on the beach lounge chair again. As the housekeeper shows him to the room, Doc ponders this incredible turn of events. It is just like she said it was. This beautiful woman, who has resided in his sleep for a number of years, is actually real. Suddenly, whatever compelled him to visit Sunset Valley in search of her, does not seem quite so stupid. And yet, there is something more to this than just finding love. The girl, Faith. She somehow figures into the whole thing, but in a different way. Together, they are supposed to do something fantastic. It’s just that he is not entirely sure what, exactly, it might be.

—

Doc showers and washes twice, brushes his teeth, and welcomes the clean hair and face he used to know. Then, he changes into the clothes …she… told him about. Funny. He didn’t even think to ask her name. Despite the obvious awkwardness, there is something about this place that feels like home to him. The idea is as ludicrous as having some kind of intimate relationship with the Barimen heiress.

Clean, comfortable, and oddly relaxed; Doc makes his way back down to the main floor. He can clearly hear the sound of martial arts being practiced down the hall. He knows the name Mark Barimen, and his wife Mei. Heck, who doesn’t? Together, they are probably the most celebrated law enforcement personalities this side of the industrial revolution. And their skill at martial arts is well documented. The idea of being mistaken as an intruder forces Doc to swallow hard and make pains to quicken his pace to find …her… in the sprawling estate.

—

He stumbles upon what can only be called a kitchen; though it is unlike any he has ever seen. Just the appliances alone are worth more than simoleons than he has earned in a lifetime. A tray with two mugs of hot coffee wait on the stainless steel countertop. He takes a mug and is immediately startled by the housekeeper, who indicates that Hope is waiting for him in the sitting room. Before Doc can ask, the butler takes up the tray with the remaining coffee mug and politely asks Doc to follow him.

So her name is Hope?

Hope, having also changed clothes, greets Doc with the same affection she had at the entrance. But this time, not being shy to get extra close. She quietly takes his glasses off and stares deeply into his eyes. She confesses with a shaky voice, that she has waited years to meet him, but was sure that she never would. Then she just simply asks who he is. Doc’s gaze falls to the floor. That is the one question he was hoping she would not ask.

Embarrassed, he turns his back and shrugs his shoulders, then says that he’s nobody. That is what he has always been; just nobody. He was born and raised within an urban area in France, but he’s not sure where. He had lived in shelters all his life. First with his mother, then after she passed, by himself. He had managed to make some money drifting and doing odd jobs. Any money he did manage to earn, always went toward building these crazy things he always thinks up. Most of the time he had to use discarded junk to salvage the parts he needed. Then, something drew him to Sunset Valley. Faith was the very first sim he met upon arriving. It seemed unexplainable and absurd at the time. But now…

Hope draws close to Doc again and rests her chin on his shoulder, whispering that he is “somebody” to her. It may seem crazy, but she knows that they have been brought together. What else, other than pure and simple love, can persist despite having never actually met? Then she giggles quietly and apologizes for sounding like a total flake; but she has been dying to know what his name is. He smiles as he pushes on the bridge of his glasses with his forefinger, saying that his mother had only ever called him “Doc”.

Hope giggles again and takes his hand, then quietly leads him through the living room, up the stairs, and into her bedroom suite. Then, kissing him tenderly on the lips, she tells him to forget about the guest room.

This was a fun post to write, and one that was a long time coming. I’m happiest for Hope, though. She has been through a lot, and she really deserves to find her “true love”. You may have noticed, though, that she still is not very disciplined in her moral convictions.

Zoxell

Up Next: Part 21 – ??

August 20, 2017
Van and Benita finally begin to heal their relationship and discover that their friendship does, indeed, have a much more complicated component. Big things await our embattled couple.
Next up – Frightening news from Area 15 is accompanied by a surprise visit from an old friend. Also, Benita receives help from a very unexpected source.